Fish, fish and more fish! (National Marine Aquarium)

Member Name: Claribella

Product:	National Marine Aquarium
Date:	08/04/09 (55 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Educational

Disadvantages: Dark

My hubby is a teacher so he gets lots of lovely holidays. He is currently on a two week break for the Easter holidays so we decided to plan some lovely family days out, one being the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth. I have lived here all of my life but have never bothered with the aquarium but now my son is at an age where he can enjoy things like that we decided to make the trip.

What can you see there?
The Aquarium has lots of different underwater life that can be seen including huge sharks, turtles, seahorses, octopus and many other fishes. The fishes are displayed in a variety of different tanks including open topped ones. There are LCD screens to the side of every tank which explains a little bit about each fish and why they have particular markings. The place has lots of 'Question and answer' puzzles for the children and little places to crawl into and play in as well.

The lay out.
The layout was a little confusing and it didn't help that we weren't given a map. Basically you start right up the top of the building then work your way down through the different tanks. I found that we were a little lost at times and people seemed to be walking in different directions. Thankfully it wasn't that busy but I can imagine on a hectic day it could be mayhem in there.

What did I think?
I really enjoyed it and thought it was a very unique experience. It isn't often that you get the chance to be so close up to creatures of the sea. I really loved the fact that there was so much to look at and at some points the fish were swimming over your head so you could really study them and even count there teeth if you were quick enough. I found the whole trip really educational and it made me realize how little I know. For example I found out that all clown fish are born males and it's not until a few years go by that some turn into females!!! (Hah sounds like some of us humans!)

I didn't like the fact that it was really dark and there was no one way system. I know it needs to be dark for the fish but if it was really busy then it would be easy to lose a child especially if you have a live wire.

I also found that although there were boxes on the front of the tanks that the little ones could stand on, it still wasn't tall enough for Noah so we had to pick him a fair bit.

One thing that I didn't really expect was the views. There was large windows dotted throughout the place that looked out over the sound and they were amazing. You could see all of the boats and the fishermen in the docks. It really added to the whole experience.

What did Noah think?
Noah loved it! There was so much going on he didn't know what to look at first! There was a tank that had a 'Nemo' fish and 'Dori' fish in it and he just kept asking to go back and see them. I think he was a little too young to fully enjoy it to the full. He didn't really understand all of the questions and answer part of the aquarium but it didn't stop him from pushing all of the buttons and enjoying watching things light up.

Cost.

Here are the prices as follows:
£11 Adult
£6.50 5-16 year olds
£9 students/pensioners
£30 family ticket (2 adults,2 children)
£40 annual membership

If you fancy booking online via there website then you can get 20% off all of the listed prices so that's worth remembering.

We decided to pick up an annual membership as it was going to cost us £22 to get in anyway. Since we live in Plymouth we thought that we could make sure that we go at least twice to make our money back. It's worth baring that in mind if you do live in or around Plymouth and will definitely make use of the membership.

I would definitely recommend that you give this place a try although I would say that I wouldn't plan to make a day of it. You could stretch it out by having a wonder around then having some lunch in the restaurant whilst the children play in the play area and then take another look around but it could get a bit boring. I would suggest that you combine it with a wonder around the City Centre or even go onto the barbican for an ice cream after.

Summary: A great afternoon out.